Cinema

[Scythe]

Or one could hope for the Blade Runner experience.

[Chroelle]

I have to agree with your judgement on both movies eMTe. Not sure I would say Ridley Scott is always bad, but I would say that Denzel and Crowe was mis-casted big time in this movie. I felt more like I watched a movie where Denzel was playing an American Gangster, and Crowe was playing a man of principle in a setting made to look like the 70's, instead of feeling like I watched the story of Frank Lucas and Richie Roberts in the 70's. When you dont get past that feeling when watching a movie, then there is something wrong and it is not believable. Shooter was a great no-brainer I believe - sort of like Max Payne and tuff like that. Something you watch for entertainment and not to get mindwarped or emotional.

[Pater Alf]

The Boat that Rocked
A wonderful trip back to the 60s when Rock'n'Roll was still wild and dangerous. Very British and very funny!

[Scythe]

I was dragged in to see Dark Shadows. I think I slept for a couple of minutes until something loud happened. Remember when Tim Burton made interesting movies? Yeah, sometimes it's a little hard...

[Chroelle]

The boat that rocked Rocks! I loved it when I saw it first time. Its so VERY British!

[Pater Alf]

My Week with Marylin
Michelle Williams shows a great perfomance as Marylin Monroe (seems she gets better and better with every movie she makes), but yet this movie is pretty boring. Mainly because it doesn't tell anything new or interesting about the main protagonist. So Marylin Monroe was a very insecure woman with lots of emotional problems that she tried to cure with pills and alcohol? I think there aren't many people who didn't know that before...

[eMTe]

Having nothing better to watch (except Boardwalk Empire) I watched yesterday, after many years, Name of the Rose. The movie which I loved when I watched it for the first time as a teen, than disliked and after recent watch I like it again. It's a very 80-ish, mood-driven movie, very similar to Le Grand Bleu in this aspect (yeah, Im aware how far-fetched comparison this is). It's quite faithful to the book and retains major themes intact. Strangely, as far as it is obviously more shallow than book, it is also more accessible - Eco may be an erudite, but he is a very poor writer.

Btw, for these who know the book and/or movie: have you noticed a plot similarity between Name of The Rose and Indiana Jones and The Fate of Atlantis?

I also plan to watch Inland Empire finally, this weekend. I remember that I approached this movie three or four times and never got past the first hour.

Remember when Tim Burton made interesting movies?

I remember only two of his movies without peeking at IMDb - Batman and Edward Scissorhand. Oh, and Beetlejuice of which existence Im aware, but I dont remember watching it. So yeah, it must have been 20 years ago.

[Pater Alf]

I still like most of Tim Burton's movies. He's still one of the few Hollywood directors that have a very own handwriting. The only movie he made that is really bad is the crappy "Planet of the Apes" remake.

Haven't seen "Dark Shadows" yet, but I have a free ticket forr it, so I will probably watch it next week.

[Chroelle]

Nightmare before Christmas was an instant classic if you ask me. I loved it. I actually think I have it somewhere (if it wasn't on VHS and is now in the landfill after the "flood").

[Scythe]

So, now that my best friend married, I get to see wonderful movies, like Snow White and the Huntsman, a movie that will no doubt corrupt the minds of impressionable young girls for years to come.

If I'm ever to watch another Snow White adaptation, it had better be something like this:

[Pater Alf]

I finally saw Dark Shadows today and it is really unbelievable boring. Strange how you can make such a bad movie if all elements are there to create a good one. Maybe Tim Burton just shouldn't make remakes. The two he did ("Planet of Apes" and "Dark Shadows") are by far his worst movies.

[eMTe]

I watched two movies recently.

First one is the first movie by Michael Mann (Heat, Miami Vice etc.) from 1980 or so - title: Thief. Everything Michael Mann will become famous from is here: night scenes, fast action, atmospheric music (from Tangerine Dream here). Unfortunately the movie is very simplistic with flat characters etc. and is purely mood-driven, fortunately with some good scenes and music themes (but music overshadows movie at times which is not good also). Overall score: acceptable, but watch it only at night. Besides, every movie fan should know first movies of important directors.

Second one is Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, based on Le Carre's novel from 70ies. Afair it was awarded three oscars this or previous year. Performance by Gary Oldman - great. Plot - captivating. Pace - slow. Mood - melancholic. Very "northern" movie directed by Swedish director what adds up to the general unhollywoodish feel. And of course very British, because as much as all major characters are spies they are also oldschool gentlemen. Overall score: very good screen version of the classic novel - a must watch if you love detective stories and espionage plots.

[Pater Alf]

Kunsten å tenke negativt

Great movie about some handicapped people and a "think positive"-therapy that goes completely wrong. Wonderful characters, great dialogues and a good dose of very black humor. Funny on the one hand, but gives you lots of stuff to think about on the other one.

[Pater Alf]

Mientras Duermes (Sleep Tight)

Evil Spanish thriller about a mad caretaker who can't feel joy and because of that terrorizes the inhabitants of his building. Especially he is obsessed with a young fun-loving woman and tries to destroy her happiness. I won't give anything away, but the main character is one of the most evil ones I have seen in cinema for years. Really scary. Go and watch it, but don't expect to sleept tight after that.

[eMTe]

During last two weeks I watched so many movies that I wont even bother reviewing them. Klute, Blow Out with John Travolta, Parallax View, Ninth Gate, Misery (this one I watched long ago, actually), To Catch a Thief by Hitchcock (with a scene that is probably the prototype of the famous plane scene from North by Northwest, unless Alfred utilised this theme in his earlier movies also), The Client based on Grisham's novel, The Machinist and The Game by David Fincher.

[Pater Alf]

Moonrise Kingdom
Wes Anderson is one of the few directors that doesn't even need a story to make a brilliant movie. A depressed girl and an orphan scout boy run away from home. That's it. Everything else is about the bizarre situations and the droll, but lovable characters. Great movie!

[Pater Alf]

Wolf Creek
An Australian hillbilly tortures and kills tourist in the outback. Not highly original, but at least atmospheric. Certainly no must-see, but an ok movie if you want to turn off your brain and don't mind some drastic scenes.



The Yellow Sea
South Korean action movie/thriller with great action scenes, but a complete lack of logic when it comes to the story. And the whole time I asked myself how much brutality it needs to turn violance into something funny (someone should make a study about that).

[Drasir-Vel]

I've been watching Doctor Who. I can very much recommend it. If you are going to watch it, i recommend you start from season 5 with "The Eleventh Hour".

[Pater Alf]

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil
Two hillbillies and a group of college kids in the woods and one by one they all die. Wait, doesn't that sound like the movie I watched yesterday? Might be, but this one was hilarious, because it takes all the clichés from slasher movies, turns them around and makes fun of it that way. I had a good laugh at least!



Jigoku
A classic Japanese horror movie. A young man flles from the scene of a deadly car accident. Because of that he has to suffer for the rest of his short life and is thrown to hell. Very strange, but in a certain way also very fascinating and hypnotic.

[Scythe]

The new Batman movie is pretty good, though I would have cut at least 20 minutes from it.